Thargomindah, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Thargomindah is a remote town in south-west Queensland, on the Bulloo River in the Channel Country, about 1,000 kilometres west of Brisbane and 200 kilometres west of Cunnamulla. The Kalali people are the traditional owners, and the name is said to be an Aboriginal word for echidna. Vincent James Dowling took up a pastoral run here in 1865, and a township grew at the river crossing from the 1870s, with a post office in 1870 and a telegraph line to Cunnamulla by 1881. Thargomindah was one of the first towns in Australia to make hydro-electric power, running from 1898 to 1951 on pressurised hot water from the Great Artesian Basin to light its streets. It is now the centre of the Bulloo Shire, a low-density cattle district.
Less advantaged than the national average
Thargomindah is more socio-economically advantaged than about 24% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 938, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Thargomindah at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 243
- Median age
- 38
- Median weekly household income
- $1,480
- SEIFA score
- 938
- Coordinates
- -28.0291, 143.7563
Thargomindah demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Thargomindah using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 31%, 37% of homes are rented, and 3% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 51 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 27 | 11% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 76 | 31% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 67 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 26 | 11% |
Share of the 247 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 32 | 30% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 23 | 22% |
| Rented | 39 | 37% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 80 | 82% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 7 | 7% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 97 occupied private dwellings in Thargomindah.
- Median weekly rent
- $153
- Median monthly mortgage
- $696
- Average household size
- 2.4 people
- Median weekly family income
- $2,031
- Median weekly personal income
- $1,004
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 8 (3%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 4 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 33 (14%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 70 (39%)
- Labour-force participation
- 78.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 0.7%
- Employed full-time
- 111
- Employed part-time
- 28
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Common questions about Thargomindah
Where is Thargomindah?
Thargomindah is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Thargomindah?
At the 2021 Census, Thargomindah had a population of about 243.
Is Thargomindah an advantaged area?
Thargomindah has an ABS SEIFA score of 938, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 24 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 24% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
More suburb guides in Queensland
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.